Olive Garden Breadsticks

http://www.cdkitchen.com

Ingredients:

1 Loaf unfrozen bread -- thaw in bowl at room temp
Pam
Garlic powder
Dry oregano leaf -- rub to a powder between fingers




Directions:
When dough is soft enough to knead, spray your fingers with Pam or oil and
knead just until you can shape into cigar-sized pieces (about 8 to 10). Place
these 3" apart on Pam-sprayed cookie sheets. Let rise in warm place until
doubled - about 1-1/2 hours. Then holding Pam about 8" from sticks, lightly

spray top of each and then dust with garlic powder and oregano. Bake at 375~
about 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on rack to serve
within a day or two.

Classic Red Chili

*Makes 12-14 servings

2 medium onions, diced
2 teaspoons salt
2 to 2 1/2 pounds ground beef
3 large cans (29 ounces each) pinto beans, drained
46 oz. (one large can) tomato juice
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 cup ketchup
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup water
3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons cumin
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar

Brown the hamburger and onion in a large skillet. Drain grease. In a small bowl combine the 1/2 cup water with the garlic salt, pepper, chili powder, cayenne pepper, cumin and brown sugar.

In a large pot, combine tomato juice, beans, tomato sauce, and ketchup. Stir in hamburger and onions and seasoning/water mixture. Mix well. Stir in bay leaves.

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat and simmer over medium-low heat for an hour, stirring occasionally (this can simmer for as long as 4-5 hours).

Recipe Source:from my kitchen cafe- adapted from Michel W.

Pumpkin Bread

from food for thought

2 cups sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup oil
1 15 ounce can pumpkin (2 cups)
4 eggs
2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 t. each cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom
1/2 t. cloves
3 1/2 cups flour
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 t. cinnamon
3 T. butter, softened

Combine the wet ingredients and mix well. Add the baking soda, salt, spices and flour and stir until well combined, then stir in the semisweet chips. Mist 6 mini loaf pans with cooking spray and divide the batter equally between them. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour and cinnamon, then work in the softened butter until small clumps form. Sprinkle the clumps evenly over the pans full of batter, then bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before attemping to remove them from the pan.

Favorite Minestrone

submitted by Melanie @ the sisters cafe

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 potatoes, peeled and cubed
5 carrots, chopped
4 stalks celery leaves and all, chopped
1 sweet onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can petite diced italian tomatoes
2 (14 ounce) can chicken broth
4 cups water
a couple of handfuls of chopped fresh spinach leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon salt
2 cups cooked shell pasta


DIRECTIONS
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir potatoes, carrots, celery, onion and garlic into pot. Mix in tomato paste, beans, tomatoes, broth and water. Season with basil, oregano and salt. Cook and stir 30-40 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.
Add the chopped spinach the last 5 minutes.
Cook shell pasta in a seperate pot until al dente. Stir pasta into soup. Serve with a generous sprinkle of fresh parmesan! Yum!

Microwave Hot Fudge Sauce

posted on real mom kitchen

In a 4-cup glass dish, Add:

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ cup corn syrup
¼ cup butter or margarine (I used butter)

Microwave at 70% power for 1 minute. Stir well.

Next, Add:

1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp. vanilla
Dash of salt


Blend well and microwave until bubbly (about 1 minute at full power). Stir and serve over ice cream. Refrigerate remaining sauce in air-tight container. Will keep for several days

Microwave Caramel Corn

from your home based mom

16 cups popped corn (I used my air popper)

1 C brown sugar

1/4 C Karo syrup

1/2 C butter

Cook sugar, syrup and butter in a glass bowl in microwave on high for one minute. Stir and repeat for a total of five minutes. Should be hot and bubble.

Add:

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2-1 tsp vanilla

Mix until foamy. Put popped corn into a brown grocery bag. Pour syrup into bag. Stir to coat. Fold bag over. Place in microwave and microwave for one minute and shake. Repeat. Microwave 30 seconds and shake. Repeat. (Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar if desired and shake again)

Pour popcorn out to cool on wax paper.

Macaroni Soup

from not so secret family recipes
1 cup macaroni
1 lb hamburger
1 can french onion soup
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can beef broth
garlic, Italian seasonings (optional)

Cook macaroni as per package directions. Brown hamburger. Toss together in a pot. Add onion soup, tomatoes, and beef broth. Warm and eat! Serves 6.

And I served mine with Divine bread sticks. Yummy as so easy.